Adjustable multiple plate holder



NOV. 23, 1948. L u s 2,454,516

ADJUSTABLE MULTIPLE PLATE HOLDER Filed May 9, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR fieafilaurgmi BY ATTORNEYS Nov. 23, 1948. F. R. LAUREYNS2,454,516

' AD USTABLE MULTIPLE PLATE HOLDER Fil ed May 9, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 23, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ADJUSTABLEMULTIPLE PLATE HOLDER Fred'R. Laureyns, Middle Village, N. Y.

Application May 9, 1947, Serial No. 747,079

Claims.

1 The invention relates to an adjustable plate holder for supporting andholding a plurality of plates in a vertical position on a shelf or othersupport.

The main object of the invention is to provide a plate holder forsupporting and holding a plurality of plates in a vertical position on ashelf or other support, and which is adapted to be adjusted for use fordifferent shapes and sizes of plates.

A further object of the invention is to provide a plate holder deviceadapted to be secured .to a shelf or other support and which isconstructed and arranged so that one or more plates from a group beingsupported thereby may be removed therefrom without danger of theremaining plates slipping or becoming displaced.

A further object is to provide a plate holder device which is providedwith a resilient cushioning means upon which the plates assembled in theholder are supported and which is formed with spaced grooves forreceiving the bottom rims of individual plates and holding them inspaced relation to each other.

A further object is to provide a plate holder device which is supportedwith a pair of rest arms against which the upper portions of platesassembled in the holder will be supported and which arms are adapted tobe adju-stably positioned with respect to the holder to provide supportsfor different sizes of plates.

Further objects of the invention will appear more fully hereinafter inthe specification and will be specifically pointed out in the appendedclaims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings- Figure 1 is a front elevation ofa plate holder constructed in accordance with the invention, with partsthereof shown broken away to more clearly indicate the construction, andalso indicating a plate in position on the holder;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the holder;

Figure 3 is a sectional view of Figure 2 taken on the line 3-3 thereofand looking in the direction of the arrows and indicating a plurality ofplates in position on the holder;

Figure 4 is an end elevational view of the holder with parts broken awayto more clearly show the construction; and

Figure 5 is a perspective elevational view of one of the plate rest armsused in the holder construction.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the plate holder of myinvention is comprised of a frame member I; a pair of adjustable blockmembers 2 and 3; a pair of platerest arms 4 and 5; and a grooved platesupporting mat 6 made of a resilient material.

The frame member I is preferably made in one piece of a suitable plasticmaterial although it may also be constructed of wood or any othersuitable material. It is formed with a flat top surface I and with theside wall portions 8 and 8 and with open ends. The flat top surface hasa centered rectangular shaped cutout opening l0 therein.

Positioned in the open ends of the frame member and so that they willhave a sliding engagement between the inner faces of the wall portions 8and 9, are the adjusting blocks 2 and 3. The adjusting blocks arepreferably made of molded pliable rubber and are provided with beveledinner ends H and i2 which extend downwardly from the upper faces of theblocks at approximately a forty-five degree angle. The adjusting blocksmay also be made of wood or of a plastic material and with the beveledinner ends formed of rubber or other resilient material. Each of saidadjusting blocks has an elongated slot I3 therethrough and positioned insaid slot is a screw bolt [4. The upper end of said screw bolts. extendabove said slot and through openings provided in the fiat top surface Iof the frame member l and are secured to said frame member by means ofthe threaded nuts l5.

It will be seen that by reason of the construction of the holder thusfar described, the blocks 2 and 3 may be slidingly positioned andsecured with respect to the frame member I, by means of the bolts 14 andnuts l5 and so that their inner beveled ends H and I2 will be positionedwithin the opening ll! of the frame member at a predetermined distanceapart and so they will function as a support for the lower rim portionsof the plates mounted in the holder.

Removably mounted on the fiat top surface I of the frame member I, arethe plate rest arms 4 and 5. These rest arms are preferably made ofmolded rubber and are formed with an inwardly extending front faceportion I6.

The lower ends of the plate rest arms are formed with right angledcutout portions as clearly shown in Figure 5. The upper face ll of saidcutout portion is adapted to fit over and be supported by the flat topsurface l of the frame member I and the face I8 of said cutout portionis adapted to abut against the outer face right angled cutout portion ofthe plate rest arms is a pin l9, which is adapted to be inserted in oneof the holes 20, which are provided in the frame member at the rear edgethereof and which holds the rest arms in an upright position on saidframe member. The holes 20 are arranged along the rear edge of the framemember in spaced relation to each other and so that the plate rest armsmay be positioned with respect to the frame member to serve as supportsfor different sized plates.

The resilient plate supporting mat 6 which forms a part of the holderconstruction is adapted to be placed upon the surface of a shelf orother support upon which the plate holder is mounted and so that it willbe positioned between the beveled inner ends H and I 2 of the blocks 2and 3 after said blocks have been adjusted with respect to the framemember. The plate supporting mat may be constructed of rubber or of anyother suitable resilient material such as cork or leather and is formedwith a plurality of grooves 2| separated from each other by the upwardlyextending walls 22. The grooves 2| are adapted to receive the loweredges of plates assembled on the holder and function to hold the platesin position on the holder with the lower edges thereof separated fromeach other. The mat 6 is constructed so that it will gradually taperdownwardly from the front part of the plate holder construction towardsthe rear thereof, as shown in Figure 3, and so that the grooves 2|therein and the walls 22, will take care of the angle at which theseveral plates assembled in the holder will be positioned and also sothat the said grooves and walls will more positively insure againstslippage of the plates.

When the plate holder is to be used, the frame member I with the blocks2 and 3 slidingly positioned with respect thereto, is placed upon ashelf or support and is secured thereto by means of suitable R. H. Woodscrews indicated at 23 in Figure 4, which are inserted through holes 24provided through the front edge portion of the frame member, and alsoutilizing one of two idle adjustment holes 20 on either side (see Fig.4) in like manner for the securement of the back of the frame to theshelf. arms 4 and 5 are mounted on the frame member by inserting thepins I9 thereof in the proper holes 20 at the rear edge of the framemember and according to the particular sized plates to be supported onthe holder. A plate of the particular size to be mounted on the holderis then placed in position and so that its upper end will rest againstthe arms 4 and 5 and the blocks 2 and 3 are adjusted so that theirbeveled inner ends will be positioned in the cutout opening ll] of theframe member a proper distance apart to provide a proper support for thelower rim portion of the plate. The block members are then securedagainst movement by tightening the nuts I5 upon the screw bolts I l. Theresilient plate supporting mat 6 is then positioned in the space formedby the cutout opening IU of the frame member and so that it will restupon the surface of the shelf or other support for the holder, and

so that it will extend between the beveled ends of the blocks 2 and 3and with its grooves positioned to receive the lower edges of theplates. The mat 6 is then glued to the shelf surface or secured theretoby means of small brads 24 such as are indicated in the drawings inFigure 3. The remainder of the plates to be supported in the holder arethen positioned on the holder and Then the plate rest so that they willrest in a vertical position against the first plate positioned thereonand with their lower rim portions supported by the beveled ends of theblocks 2 and 3 and their lower edges positioned in the grooves providedin the mat 6.

It will be seen that my improved plate holder construction provides anefiicient and safe device for arranging and supporting a plurality ofplates in a vertical position on a shelf or other support. It alsoprovides a means for attractively displaying a plurality of plates in akitchen or other cabinet. Furthermore the plate holder may be readilyadjusted to accommodate different shapes and sizes of plates and platesmay be removed therefrom without danger of slippage of the remainingplates.

What is claimed is:

l. A plate holder for supporting a plurality of plates thereon in avertical position comprised of a frame member formed with a flat topportion having a central opening therethrough, a pair of block membershaving sliding engagement with said frame member and having beveledplate supporting inner ends, means for adjustably positioning the blockmembers with respect to said frame member so that their inner ends areadapted to support different sized plates, a pair of plate rest armsremovably mounted on said frame member, and grooved plate supportingmeans made of resilient material positioned in the holder between thebeveled ends of said block supporting inner ends made of a resilientmaterial, means for adjusting the position of the inner beveled ends ofsaid block members with respect to the opening in said frame member,plate rest arms removably mounted on the top fiat portion of said framemember, and a grooved mat made of a resilient material positioned in theholder between the beveled ends of said block members for supporting thelower rims of the plates positioned in the holder.

3. A plate holder for supporting a plurality of plates thereon in avertical position comprising a frame member formed with a flat topportion having a central opening therethrough, a pair of platesupporting block members having sliding engagement with said framemember and provided with beveled plate supporting inner ends, means foradjustably positioning the said block members with respect to theopening through said frame member and so that the inner ends thereof areadapted to support different sizes of plates, 2. pair of plate rest armsremovably mounted on the rear end of said frame member,

and a grooved plate supporting mat member. made of a resilient materialpositioned between the beveled ends of said block members, said matmember being of greater thickness at its forward end than at its rearend.

4. A. multiple plate supporting holder comprised of a frame memberformed with a fiat top portion, vertical side portions and open ends,and having a central opening provided through the said top portion, apair of plate supporting blocks having sliding engagement between thesides of said frame member and provided with inner bevel-ed ends whichproject into the space provided by the opening through the top portionof the frame member, means for adjustably positioning said block memberswith respect to said frame member, a pair of plate rest arms removablymounted on the frame member, and a resilient grooved mat positionedbetween the beveled ends of said block members for supporting the lowerrims of plates mounted in the holder.

5. A plate supporting holder adapted to support a plurality of platesthereon in a vertical position comprised of a frame member formed with aflat top portion having a central opening therethrough, a pair of platesupporting block members slidingly positioned with respect to said framemember and having inner beveled ends which project into the spacesurrounded by the opening through the flat top portion of the framemember, slots formed in said block members and means positioned in saidslots for fastening said block members to said frame members in apredetermined position with respect thereto, a pair of plate rest armsadapted to be adjustably and removably mounted on said frame member inspaced openings provided therein and a grooved mat for supporting thelower rims of the plates positioned in the holder positioned between thebeveled ends of said block members.

FRED R. LAUREYNS.

No references cited.

Certificate of Correction November 23, 1948.

Patent No. 2,454,516.

FRED R. LAUREYNS ertifiecl that error appears in the printedspecification of the above numbered patent requiring correction asfollows:

d supported read provided;

Column 1, line 26, for the Wor th this correction and that the saidLetters Patent should be read Wi same may conform to the record of thecase in the Patent Office. Signed and sealed this 15th day of March, A.D. 1949.

It is hereby c therein that the THOMAS E. MURPHY,

Assistant Commissioner of Patents.

